Indian Summer
by Vivian Caidin
Summary: A continuation of It's Better This Way. After Buffy left Sunnydale, California, the Scoobies had to take up the slack. And, boy did they!
1. Prologue

TITLE: Indian Summer

DISCLAIMER: Joss Whedon owns Buffy the Vampire Slayer, James Cameron owns Dark Angel, Davis Panzer/Gregory Widen owns Highlander, other crossovers to come. The song "I'm Going Home" is from "Rocky Horror Picture Show".

PAIRING: Xander/Cordelia, Willow/Oz

RATING: T and R for language and content.

SPOILERS: Dark Angel is set at the end of season 2. Buffy is set between seasons 2 and 3. Highlander is set after the Series, but before Endgame.

Summary: A continuation of It's Better This Way. After Buffy left Sunnydale, California, the Scoobies had to take up the slack.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is based on Challenge 1405: Not so broken world submitted by Ladeia and Challenge 400: Immortal Revelation by Teri from Twisting the Hellmouth.

Prologue

…A Change Will Do You Good…

A lot of things changed over the summer after Buffy Summers ran away from home.

One thing that happened, within the core Scooby group, was that there were no longer any secrets. Rupert Giles was outed as an Immortal to Willow Rosenburg and she took it surprisingly well. Xander Harris and Cordelia Chase finally came clean to the red head about what they were.

Since Buffy Summers was no longer in Sunnydale, the Scooby Gang decided to work as a team. It started out with just the four of them.

By default, Daniel "Oz" Osborne joined the Scooby Gang through his connection with Willow. And since he knew about the supernatural, was a werewolf in fact, he decided he could not sit on the sidelines.

Next, Amy Madison had joined the group when they had rescued her once more, this time from a lick of vampires that had cornered her in the alley behind the Bronze one evening.

Then, Jonathon Levinson had been rescued from a Gomuti Demon and he had decided to join them.

Xander began working with the others and taught them how to fight, low down and dirty. He taught them aiki-jitsu as opposed to any of the other forms of combat that he had learned as X5-494.

Rupert Giles had taken the X5s aside and taught them his sword fighting techniques. He knew, being that Xander and Cordelia were transgenics they would benefit the most by his tuition.

The group, as a whole, had tried to go on patrols as one large group, but the monsters would stay away, so Xander devised a plan to split the group into two smaller groups for their patrols. And they used walkie talkies to communicate between the groups.

One transgenic on each team, one magic user on each team, and the other teens filled out the extra spot as additional support. Though he would have liked to have Giles watching his six, Xander decided to let Cordy's group take him for the extra protection.

The problem with this though is that his group wound up being one man short.

Giles solved that problem when he called one of his friends in Europe. Xander thought perhaps the person he had called was a watcher and shrugged as he listened to the phone call. Considerable though his knowledge now was, the X5 could not understand the language the older man spoke into the phone one day near the beginning of summer.

The Watcher finally hung up the phone and looked at his young charge.

"He'll be here within two weeks," the Immortal said to the transgenic.

"Who is he?" Xander asked as he lounged on the Watcher's couch, feet propped up lazily, flipping channels on the older man's television.

"Oh, just an old friend of mine," Giles said with a smirk.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

…Thriller Night…

At preternatural speed, a large, surprisingly fast vampire ran between a pair of headstones like the devil was on its trail.

With a blur of inhuman speed, Xander chased after him slowly gaining.

"My goodness, he's fast," the dark haired man with a Welsh accent made a comment to the red head as they ran at a slower pace.

"That's Xander alright," Willow said with a shrug and a smirk as she tried to keep a fast pace but her much shorter legs easily made her fall behind so the older man with them made sure to keep pace with her.

"Well, I think he's crazy," a young voice said from behind them as Jonathon Levinson brought up the rear, a light weight axe clutched in his double handed grip.

The group of people who were following the transgenic reached a twelve foot fence then stopped.

"It's not possible that he followed that thing over the fence is it?" the older man asked as he glanced left and right looking for a gate, or a gap, in the fence, the young man might have passed through as he saw Xander's form quickly running down a barely used dirt path.

The hacker and budding witch shrugged, "It's a possibility." She looked for a way through the fence and found none. She perked up as she thought she might be able to try a spell, "I could try a spell."

The others looked at her like she was crazy and stepped behind her and well away from the fence.

"What?" Willow asked as she turned to them.

"I don't want to be anywhere near the area of effect for one of your spells," the tall man said with a frown. "It could be a near death experience," he said sarcastically.

"Just because of one time," the red head complained as she turned back to the fence. She took a deep breath to center and focus before she began to cast the quick, one word spell. "A-**per**-ti," she said and the links in the fence separated. But not just one link in the fence, all of the links in the fence separated and the links collapsed as the frame remained in place.

"Maybe I used a little too much 'per' in there," the red head said as she scratched the back of her head, clearly puzzled.

The trio carefully stepped over and through the remains of the fence then began their trek into the forest just outside of the cemetery.

They finally heard the sounds of fist on flesh and reached the small clearing not far from what used to be the fence.

"You know," Jonathon said with a frown, "You'd think the big ones would wear down easier."

"No," the lean, lanky man smirked, "that's out of shape students."

"Ha, very ha, not," the short young man said with a frown as he panted, trying to regain his breath.

The three watched as Xander fought with the much larger vampire and easily held his own.

"Are you sure he's not the son of a Slayer or the child of a vampire?" the older man asked as they watched Xander grab the vampire's arm as it tried to punch him and flip completely over the creature to land on his feet. The young man then briskly twisted the vampire around and kicked him in the chest. The blow forced the vampire back a few yards.

"Positive," Willow said with a smile, "he just knows how to fight really well."

The man looked at her suspiciously as he turned his attention back to the fight.

Xander pulled a razor wire from seemingly nowhere on his person and in an extremely too professional move for someone so young, quickly garroted the vampire. It exploded into ash that fluttered and dissipated in the wind.

"Well," the Watcher said in a perfunctory manner, "that was rather anticlimactic."

Xander looked at him with a self-satisfied smirk.

"Alec, you got a copy?" the radio worn on his belt crackled as Cordelia's voice interrupted the near silence of the forest.

"Yeah, Cordy, come beck," he said as he spoke into the little microphone clipped to the collar of his shirt.

"All clear at Sea Side," she said through to him.

"All clear at Number 7," he said into the mic.

'The young man is a little too comfortable with military protocol,' the Watcher thought to himself.

"You up for a little RnR at the Bronze?" the voice crackled over the walkie talkie once more.

Willow smiled and nodded hugely.

Jonathon smiled as he thought he could sure use a break as well.

The older man rolled his eyes. "What did Rupert say?" he sounded more aggravated than anything as he spoke into his own walkie talkie.

"I'm all for down time at the Bronze after slaying," the English accent was heard clear over the radio.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

…Midnight at the Oasis…

Xander and Cordelia stood very close to one another as they swayed, more than danced, on the dance floor to a tune only the pair could hear. Even though the music was loud and obnoxious to their sensitive ears, they ignored it as the young man hummed a tune into Cordelia's ear.

The young man had his head nearly burrowed into the crook of her neck and was not far from extreme contentment.

Adam Pierson slumped, instead of sat, in his chair at the table as he watched the pair of fighters. Every now and then he would sip from the bottle of cheap beer he had clutched loosely in his hand.

Rupert Giles, his student and later comrade in arms, sat across from him and took a pull from his own beer.

"They are not totally human are they, Ripper?" the Immortal asked as he studied the young people on the dance floor.

"Noticed that, did you, old man?" Giles asked the physically younger looking man with a smirk as he set the bottle down on the table and looked over at the transgenics.

"What are they?" Methos asked with a serious tone. "She's not a Slayer. They're not demons."

The Watcher remained silent as a mysterious smirk quirked his lips.

The oldest of their kind turned to the younger Immortal with a hard look in his eyes that would have terrified most men.

Giles' smile got wider.

Adam leaned forward when his intimidation tactic did not work and tried to guess, "They're not lycanthropes," he easily ruled out, "that's reserved for the short young man playing rock music on stage."

A shrug from his counterpart was his only response.

"They're not demons, definitely not vampires…" he scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Crow? Primals? Empowered Mages? What are they, Gennadius?" the last was said at a whisper.

Giles sighed heavily as he spoke just as quietly, "Sorry, Methos, it's not my story to tell. When they trust you enough, they'll confide in you their secrets."

...He's a What?...

To all intents and purposes, the young couple on the dance floor looked like any couple in love.

"So what do you think of the Immortal that's working with us now?" Xander whispered into Cordy's ear as he covertly watched the table where the older men sat.

"He's an Immortal?" She looked up at him then turned her head back to his shoulder. "How'd you figure that out so quickly?"

"I went with G-man to pick him up at LAX," Xander said as he spun her so that she could see the table. "He stood straighter and he thought I didn't notice him casing the joint with his eyes before Mr. Mild Mannered Geek walked out of the baggage area."

"Yep," the May Queen nodded as much as she was able as she continued, "that was his attitude when he told me to get into his car that night."

"Well?" the transgenic asked as he spun her one more time.

"Well what?"

"What do you think of him?"

"He seems nice enough for an older guy," Cordy said with a sigh, "But I haven't been around him enough to get a good understanding of him."

They were silent a long time before she spoke again, "Why? What do you think?"

He turned once more so that he could watch the table of Watchers, "He hasn't done or said anything suspicious, but I think he's more than just mild mannered."

Both transgenics were startled when a hand thumped heavily on each of their shoulders.

"Hey, guys," Willow said happily as the pair broke apart to look at her. "Oz is about to sing," she said excitedly. They smiled and followed her to the front of the stage to hear the young werewolf's turn at the mic.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

…Mission Impossible…

Crouched low, the young man watched the goings on at the base with the intensity of a lion watching zebra on the Serengeti.

It was nighttime, but that did not stop him from being able to see in the dark. In fact, he could see better and farther than most humans with 20/20 vision at any time, day or night.

The first time he had come here, he had commandeered a bazooka from the armory. Subsequent times after that, the young man had needed to stock up on supplies that their group needed. No one asked him where he acquired his supply of arms and armor.

At first, the others complained about wearing the mesh armor, but after Jonathon had been tackled by a Howler Demon when they had killed its mate. The teen had been unharmed thanks to that armor.

'This is like taking candy from a baby,' he thought to himself as a troop of soldiers marched past the fence near where he crouched in the long grass across the road.

He waited patiently and listened intently, and sure enough a black clad SF, with a Doberman pincer on a leash walked passed. The razor-blade in a fur coat caught his scent and went crazy, it barked and growled at the fence line, even as the sentry looked out into the night and spotted nothing.

"Come on, you crazy mutt," the gravely voice could be heard as he pulled the dog along his path.

The dog struggled along the way since it wanted to come back and investigate the strange human-cat smell.

He waited long enough to be out of the Doby's range of senses and left his hiding place. He blurred across the road, stopped in front of the fence and leapt the twelve foot chain link fence with concertina wire topping it with a foot to spare. Landing in a crouch, he blurred further down the base to where he knew the equipment storage warehouse was located.

He smirked as he tried the handle on the door, the knob turned. Xander rolled his eyes as he complained, "They should at least know to lock the doors after the first few times."

He pulled a collapsible duffel bag from a pocket in his black jacket and shook it open. As he walked down row after row of all types of stockpiled equipment he looked at everything and thought of what they might need.

"Oh-ooo, UV flashlight," he said as he recognized the large, bulky light and pulled one off the shelf.

Further down another row of shelves, the young man perked up once more, "Sub vocal communicators," he grabbed ten of the tiny receiver/transmitters and they were small enough to shove them into an inner pocket of his jacket.

He pulled interesting things off of random shelves, like a broad band scanner, a portable bug detector, two sets of lock picking tools, a white noise generator, a camouflage paint kit, a climbing kit, not that he needed one of those, but the others might.

He walked further down another row of shelves and found several different things like a complete professional medical first aid kit, three hundred feet of nylon cord that was 600 pound tested, he grabbed a couple of packages of black battle dress uniforms, a few wool sweaters and a camouflage t-shirt or two.

He found more stuff that he shoved into the duffel bag as he continued to shop down row after row of military supply.

"Oh," he whispered in near awe as his eye caught sight of a laptop computer… 'spared no expense, Toshiba Toughbook with removable touch screen…' "Come to papa," he said as he grabbed the state of the art, advanced, for this day and age, computer, kissed the front of the casing and shoved it, none too gently into his bag. He knew Willow would drool over that nifty piece of electronic wonder, but he just had to have one.

Suddenly, the young man heard the door open and the over head lights turned on.

Where could he go? How would he hide in here? Wide eyed, he looked for a hiding spot as he shoved the bag on a low shelf near his feet.

The footfalls grew louder as the inventory clerk walked down the rows and finally turned down the row where the young man had been. He was no where to be seen. The Corporal walked up and down all of the rows then turned to leave… he turned the light out and closed the door.

Suddenly, a dark form dropped from the rafters next to the metal shelf, he crouched down and retrieved his booty from the bottom shelf and beat his own hasty retreat.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

…Got to be the Cream of the Crust…

Breakfast that morning was a lavish affair as usual.

Napkin placed primly across her nap, Cordelia Chase stabbed at her Eggs Benedict as she frowned thoughtfully.

Mrs. Veronica Harrington-Chase sat stiffly across from her daughter as she picked at her barely eaten fruit like a bird.

Mr. Noble Chase sat at the head of the table and read the newspaper as he drank his orange juice.

The transgenic was not happy with this situation.

They were her parents, yes, but they did not love her. They did not give her any more attention than they had to and that put the moue of disappointment on her full lips.

"Cordelia, don't frown, dear," her mother said as she eyed her daughter from across the table. "You'll get wrinkles before you turn twenty."

"Thanks, mother," she said as she stabbed her last bite of egg with the fork.

"Sit up, dear," her mother harped one more time, "Don't slouch, you'll have a duchess' hump before your thirty."

She set her fork down quietly and looked at her father, "May I please be excused, I've finished."

The corner of the paper turned down as the man at the head of the table looked at her sternly for a long moment before he said, "You may go." He then returned to his paper as though nothing had happened.

She stood and had to control herself so that she would not blur out of the room and away from them.

She would have liked to do what Xander did and become an emancipated minor, but they did not abuse her. She guessed she at least had that going for her.

Recently, she had bonded with Willy and Amy, and they had plans to rent a house together as soon as they graduated high school. When they were together, if she closed her eyes, she could imagine they were Kendra and Original Cindy, if she concentrated really hard.

She went out to the pool house; she had converted it into a workout room. Xander had helped her drag a weight bench in there and secure a large, body shaped sandbag to the ceiling and floor with a red X painted at heart level.

She began a workout as she turned some techno music on as loud as it would go. The routine was familiar, way too familiar, and it was so ingrained into her being, that she was able to think of other things while she exercised.

As she thought of her brothers and sisters, her thoughts turned sad. She felt like she abandoned them… Zack, Jace, Krit, Syl, and the others. She did not realize that tears were streaming down her face as she thought of Ben, Bryn and Tinga.

Spinning she performed a perfect double backhand as her thoughts turned to Joshua, Mole, Dix, Gem, Terminal City and all of her other Transgenic brothers and sisters that she had freed. Her and Alec had worked together to form a working community, something good that they could pass on to other generations... like Dalton and Gem's baby girl.

She began to kick at the dummy as her thoughts turned to others she had left behind. Sketchy, Herbal, even Normal with his 'Bip, bip, Missy Miss.' Thinking of her Jam Pony friends brought a smile to her face.

'Maybe I can get a summer job without the parentals knowing about it,' she thought to herself as she continued her routine.

She lifted into the air for an aerial spiral kick that had the dummy swinging violently on its bungee cords.

She quickly moved to the punching bag near the window and began a few reps with the speed bag as her thoughts turned to Logan "Eyes Only" Cale. She frowned deeply as she tried to convince herself that it never would have worked out between the Boy Scout and herself. Yes, she had loved him, but she had come to realize that it would not have been right. He was an ordinary, she an X5.

She stopped all movement as she suddenly realized something. She gasped as a hand flew to her mouth. 'I was only in love with the idea of being in love with him,' she thought, stunned for a long moment.

Cordelia shook her head as true realization dawned on her. She moved away from the punching bag.

Her body shook, not unlike an animal's as it releases tension, and she headed toward the bathroom.

Removing her close cropped black clothing revealed a taut, athletic body, not the body of a prom queen, as she turned the taps of the hot water, as hot as she could stand it. One good thing about this time, was all the hot water you could ever want. She stepped under the spray just for the luxurious feel of the water on her body.

'Well,' she thought to herself with a smirk, 'If I'm stuck in this world, I'm glad I'm stuck in it with Alec.' She began to hum a remembered tune.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

…Part of a Secret Society of Men and Women Who Observe and Record, but Never Interfere…

"Le Bleus Bar," a French accented, female voice picked up the phone on the third wring.

"Yeah," the Welsh accent responded, "I'm looking for Joe."

"Who's calling?"

"Adam," he said impatiently.

"Une momente," she said as she placed the phone on the bar.

Not long after, the phone was lifted, "Methos? Where ya been, old man?"

The gravely voice of Joe Dawson was a sound for sore ears as the Immortal sighed in relief. "Hey, Joe, I just wanted to call you and let you know I was doing alright."

"That's weird," Joe, never one to mince words with him, replied, "You're never one to keep in touch when you go wandering."

"Well, I've settled for a spell," he said quietly, gently.

"You've what?" the middle aged Watcher nearly dropped the phone. "Did you say you settled? In a town?!"

Methos smirked as he responded, "I live in a mansion on the outskirts of Los Angeles."

"California!?"

The Immortal flinched from the phone at the surprisingly loud tone.

"Yeah," he confirmed, "Just south of the Bouquet Reservoir and West of the Agua Dulce Air Park in a town called Sunnydale."

"Never heard of it," Joe said.

"Not many people have, it's practically under the radar," the immortal said with dry wit. "Joe, can you do me a favour?"

"What is it, old man; you're nearly out of favors?"

"Don't tell MacLeod, he'd be on the first plane out here thinking I needed a rescue, damn Boy Scout."

"That's a hard order to fill," the bar owner said with a frown.

"Don't tell the Watchers either," he said with finality, "Or this'll be the last time you hear from me."

The frown deepened on Joe's face. "I won't put it in my report," he joked as he saw his friend enter the bar.

"MacLeod's there now, isn't he," it was not a question.

"How'd you know?" Joe wondered aloud.

"Don't worry about it, I'll keep in touch," he said before he hung up the phone.

He had been surprised by the call from his student. He had met Gennadius one hundred years after the man's first death and the new Immortal had impressed him with his skill and study of the blade.

He had taken the man on as a student and they had traveled together for roughly fifty years. The younger man had even taught the ancient a thing or two.

Gennadius had been the one to introduce him to the supernatural world. Granted, Methos had known magick, ghosts and things that went bump in the night had existed. But Gennadius had been born into the Watchers… but it was not the Society that watched the Immortals. He had been indoctrinated into the Council that watched and trained the Slayer.

After the student and teacher had parted ways, Methos had spent a lot of time on Holy Ground in Tibet. He had studied at the feet of Sun Tzu Wu, an Immortal who had lived at the monastery at Laos for a thousand years and only taught those he deemed worthy.

Methos had never felt worthy, even though the old man had taken him as a student regardless of that fact.

Sun Tzu had asked him if he believed that a man could change his destiny.

At the time he did not think that a man could change, but over the centuries, the millennium, he began to change his way of thinking.


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

…Intergalactic Planetary Planetary Intergalactic Another Dimension...

The students from the Science Club had met out all meetings during the summer and it was 'mandatory' attendance unless a student did not want to be in the club anymore.

So, that Saturday in June found the young hunter headed to Warren Mears, the President of the club's house to discuss what would happen on next year's schedule.

Jonathon had decided to go, spend time with friends outside of the Hunter Group. Kind of, touch base with his roots so to speak.

Jonathon Levinson examined the fading bruise on his arm with a critical, clinical eye as he finished getting ready that morning.

Last week's patrol was rather rough on him. But he did notice that with Xander's help, he was improving. He still could not take on vampires by himself, but he and Willow worked well as a team together.

He finished getting ready and headed to the meet and greet in his small green Chevy Chevette.

He did not mind when Xander teased him that everyone from their group could lift the car up and move it if it ever broke down.

He was okay with that. His car could get him from point A to point B; most of his other friends could not say the same.

He walked up the stone steps to the southwestern style hacienda and knocked on the door.

Andrew Wells smiled at him as he opened the door not long after and said, "Come on in, Johnny Boy, my compadre in the scientific circles."

He frowned as he entered the house, he hated that name. But he relentlessly bucked up and spoke anyway, "Hey, Andrew, how's it going?"

"Things are going good," the shorter blonde said with a perky smile as he led his friend to the back room.

Before they reached the room they heard someone else speak, "Okay… if Xena Warrior Princess and Princess Diana, the Wonder Woman were to fight, who would win?"

"Oh, that's easy," Warren's voice was distinctive, "Xena Warrior Princess."

The others laughed as Andrew and Jonathon reached the entrance to the room.

"Jonathon, my man," Warren said as one of his hands lifted to wave him into the room. "If Chewbacca and Worf fought, who would win?"

Jonathon's shoulders slumped in disappointment, but he continued the charade. He wondered if it would be alright to skive off Science Club next year. He contemplated for a moment. When he was younger he would have said Chewbacca, faithfully, but tactically… "Worf."

"Worf!" one of the other kids nearly yelled in outrage, "are you out of your mind?"

"Get outa here," Andrew said with a shake of his head as he moved to sit on one of the sofas. "No way Worf's gonna win in a fight with the walking carpet, he's bigger, has that crossbow and he's smellier."

"Well," he tried to defend his answer. "Worf has a lot of combat experience. He has enhanced strength too, and the batleth sword that he carries."

The others shook their heads and laughed.

Jonathon gave a fake laugh as he sat down in a chair, near, yet so far away, from the others.

'Did I really act like them not that long ago?' he wondered to himself as he watched the group and was virtually ignored by the others as the meeting got underway.


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

…That's Your Destiny…

The spring solstice was a day of celebration for those who studied the religion of Wicca.

Joy of life, the warmth of an embrace, the laughter of friends; were included in the God and Goddess' power.

She had always believed that the beginning of summer represented a time of purification and renewal. She thought of this as a time to release sadness, fear and pain from her life. It was also the time for her to purify and renew her energies.

She began the preparations at noon that day in lieu of the main ritual to be performed later.

She sat in the library in a meditative manner as she looked at everyone and freed herself up to what she would see in the others.

Both Mr. Giles and Dr. Pierson had crackling, electric blue outer shells to both of their auras. While the Librarian's aura was filled with swirling blues and greens, the Watcher's aura was filled with yellow and a blending of orange.

She looked at Willow next and recognized the magick sparkles in the red head's aura; she noticed that it was nearly completely green with just a few shade variances up or down.

Jonathon's aura also sparkled, but not as much as her's and Willow's did. His aura had some light grey indicating that he was upset about something but it was fading fast, but that was overshadowed by the nearly blue brilliance with green, orange and purple.

She looked over at Oz even though she knew what she would find. Since the full moon was going to be here that night, his colors ran to deep, dark red and brown which indicated his baser instincts were closer to the surface than usual. His aura also cast back to her some semblance of the moon which indicated the lycanthrope.

She finally turned to look over at Xander and Cordelia. She was surprised to find their auras nearly identical. Both had deep dark grey which indicated a dark side to their personality, she had never seen that side, did not wish to see it. She recognized brown, 'so they're materialistic,' she thought to herself as she continued her open observation. The deep rustic red also indicated that they were tied closely to their baser instincts, but they were not lycanthropes because she did not see that flash of moon in their auras. And where Xander's aura had a heavy dose of orange in his aura with a splash of white and green, Cordelia's aura had a greener tinge to it. The pair, as she knew, had pink blending throughout their auras indicating the love they felt for one another. She wondered if they were going to form a bond.

Not long after she had visited with them for a little while, Amy Madison made her excuses to the group. Both Mr. Giles and Mr. Pierson understood completely what was going on. Willow, even though she knew what day it was, she did not have the same spiritual connection that Amy had.

The others had nodded, unworried as she exited the school.

Luckily her father was away on business; otherwise she would have had to find some way to do the ritual in secret.

She took a bath with candles and incense filling the room in an aromatic manner.

Ignoring the need for clothes, she moved into her bedroom sky clad, more candles and incense lent to the ambiance of the mood. She knelt at the small altar she had created in her closet and meditated. She prayed and chanted as she focused internally.

She lit the St. John's Wort candle that stood in the center of her altar in the most important place.

She then moved her hand carefully to light the astrology candle, the image candle, a purple pyramid candle and a green candle.

She then lit the four element candles and the God and Goddess candles.

She meditated some more in front of these candles for a long moment before she rose from the ground and moved to her bed for a comfortable spot to sit.

With a goose quill and paper on her clip board, Amy wrote out a list of things she wanted to renew, enhance or release in her life for the upcoming year.

She folded it up and placed it, carefully, under the large St. John's Wort candle.

She sat in front of the altar for a long time after that, meditating and praying for Gaia to bless her and for no bad outcome to happen due to her actions.


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

…Hungry Like the Wolf…

"Hey," Oz said in that monosyllabic way he had as he entered the library and tossed her his keys.

"Hey," Willow said with a perky smile as she caught them and placed them on the table next to the book she was reading then rose from her seat. "Had a good day?"

"Yeah," he smiled as he kicked off his tennis shoes and pulled the socks off of his feet.

Willow blushed and turned away as he began to disrobe, she was still not used to his freedom with the no clothes that he had acquired since becoming a shape changer.

The musician smiled fondly at her as he shimmied out of his pants and boxers and tossed his shirt on top of the pile of clothes. "You don't have to be afraid to look at me," he said quietly.

"I know," she said with her back still turned, "You're… and I'm…" she stammered, "and its…"

"Weird," he finished for her. For some reason, since he had become furry, he did not have the same modesty he had had before he was bitten. Clothes? He could take them or leave them. Most of the time, now a days, he could leave them.

The now green haired musician moved to the book cage and opened the door.

The small area had been cleared out earlier that day specifically for just such a purpose.

Giles had even used magick wards to strengthen the cage so that he would not be able to break out and hurt anyone. He definitely did not want to hurt anyone, and was glad it was not him that had killed Theresa all those months ago.

'At least,' he thought to himself, 'Its only three nights a month.'

"Willow, you need to lock the door for me," he reminded her. "You have the keys."

"Yeah," she said nervously as she turned and looked in his direction.

Oz was completely nude, and he did not hide that fact from her as he stood there, watching every move she made.

"Can't you at least…" she trailed of and indicated the lower portion of his body with a wave of her hand as she blushed clean to her roots and made sure she only looked at his face.

"I'm not gonna hide from you," he said with a slight smirk. "Get used to seein' me like this," he eyed her with a nearly wolfish light to his green eyes.

She took a deep breath as she walked over to the cage and locked the door. She pulled the keys back and placed them in a pocket of her jeans.

One of his hands came out of the small hole near the doorknob and the red head reached to grab his hand.

"See you later," Willow whispered with a smile on her pixie like face.

Oz smiled as he squeezed her hand once then released it.

He watched her walk away as she left the library as the first pangs of the change overtook him. He knew in his mind that she would return later, but he was worried. He should be out there, with her, protecting her from the badness of the world not locked up in hear with a beast.

He groaned in near pain/pleasure as forces beyond his control gripped his body in painful contractions. 'Luckily, I never loose control of my bodily functions in these moments,' he thought to himself as he grimaced and a shuddering pain ripped up his back.

He tried to muffle a scream, but it was difficult as he looked down at his hands. The backs of his forearms sprouted long fur down the length of them and he could see dark claws forming in the fingernail beds on his hands. Consequently, his whole body was sprouting with a dark reddish brown animal pelt.

'I just wish there was some way that I wouldn't loose myself when I change,' was his last conscious thought he had that night.

Oz finally shed his human guise and dropped to all fours.

The large wolf shook out his fuzzy, reddish-gold fur and moved away from the human scent to the rear of the den to sleep. The trip had been exhausting.


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

…Take It, Take It in Your Hands…

For a witch like Willow, the moon is far more than a heavenly body. To the red head it was the embodiment of the Goddess: the Maiden, the Mother and the Crone.

It was also a huge source of natural energy that is essential in witchcraft.

If you performed your spells at the right lunar phase, it heightened and strengthened the spells performed. However, if your spell was performed during the wrong phase of the moon, it could seriously debilitate the spell, producing wrong and sometimes disastrous results.

The near full, waning moon was the perfect time for the young, inexperienced witch to perform this spell.

Against the recommendations of Giles, Adam and Amy, the hacker decided she was going to try this spell today.

Dressed in her pajamas, the young woman sat in the middle of a pentagram with five fat candles at all of the points.

Since the moon was at its fullest tonight, this was the perfect time to perform this spell. She was twice blessed tonight since the moon was in Scorpio… this was the best time for spells that involved psychic growth and power.

She pulled the athame, a ritual dagger, from a pocket in her pajama bottoms and lifted it high into the air.

"Lady Luna, Diana, Selena… Goddess of Silver Love… I beseech thee."

The bathroom echoed and the shadows cast on the wall glowed with eerie light as she continued.

"I draw you down… within…" she said as she turned the blade of the dagger facing down then toward herself, her movements careful, ritualistic, precise.

"I share in your wisdom and power and work your will on earth."

She lifted both hands into the air now in supplication as she continued, "I offer myself, I beseech thee, charge me with power that only you can emit."

Suddenly, before she lost the courage, Willow cut her palm with the ritual dagger and dripped the blood onto the pentagram.

"Hear me, Goddess of the Moon!" she yelled loudly. "Reveal to me your power. Let your Universal Light shine within me."

She trailed her blood along the pentagram until she had covered it completely, "This is my will. So shall it be done."

The light from the candles flared brightly in the darkened room then extinguished suddenly.


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

…Love in Vein…

The small group of hunters waited around Nicholas Hollister's gravestone in increasing impatience.

Eventually, the young man clawed out of the fresh grave and a new vampire finally stood for the first time in the night. He growled as he sensed the presence of humans and turned. He smiled in a deceptive manner as he took in the dark clad young people.

"That's right," Cordelia said with her hands on her hips. "Three for the price of one."

The witch and the young man with her moved back to give her some room.

As drool slid down the corner of his mouth, the vampire took two steps toward the May Queen.

She blurred to stand behind him and gave him a powerful side kick that sent him into the headstone of his grave.

The vampire roared then tackled her.

Oz jumped into the fray and pulled the creature back by the collar of his letter-man jacket while the X5 kipped up into a fighting stance.

The vampire stood momentarily stunned and glared at the two in confusion. Food was not supposed to fight.

"That's right," Cordelia smiled seductively as she pushed the dark hair off her shoulder and exposed her neck.

The vampire snarled menacingly and rushed her.

"Come and get some," she said as she clothes lined him and the creature that used to be Nicholas Hollister flipped end over end to land painfully on the ground.

Amy rushed in under the pair's watchful eye and staked the vampire into ash.

"Well," Giles said as he cleaned his glasses, "you all work very well as a team."

"Thanks, Mr. Giles," Amy said as she sat next to Cordelia.

"Hey, Cordy?" Xander's voice penetrated the silence, "Its all clear over here at Number 4."

"All clear here," the transgenic responded into her own walkie talkie as she got to her feet.

"Any luck finding Buffy?" the brunette asked as she eyed the Immortal curiously.

"I have a few leads I'm working on," the older man said as they began to walk toward the meeting point.

"You'd think that she'd at least get in touch with you, Willow or Xander," Oz said quietly as he kept an eye on Amy, making sure she did not stumble.

Giles shrugged, "I have no earthly idea as to why she would isolate herself from her friends." As an afterthought he continued, "Actually I do understand why she would do this."

Instantly, the watcher sensed the presence of another Immortal and looked over to the rendezvous point.

"Is there a story that we don't know about, G-man?" Xander asked as he came to them from the other direction with his group.

"I've asked you not to call me that infernal name," he said sternly.

The young man smirked, self-satisfied, "And you'll have to ask a thousand more times before I even think about not using it."

Everyone else, even Methos, laughed at the Watcher as he cleaned his glasses in consternation.

"How did your patrol go, Xander?" Cordelia asked as she noticed the bruise on his cheek that would fade in a day."

"Asshole was on the Gym Team," the transgenic said with a frown as he caressed the bruise on his cheek.

Willow, none the worse for wear, ran up to her boyfriend and hugged him.

"Are you alright?" he asked into her hair.

"I'm fine," she whispered as she leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Are you alright, Xander?" Giles asked as he eyed the young man in deep concern.

"I'm always alright," he said with a half smile.

Adam rolled his eyes as he moved to stand next to the other Immortal, "Did you want to use some of my contacts with the Watchers?"

"The Society of Wankers cannot help in finding a Council Slayer," Giles said to the ancient, voice full of annoyance. "Not that it's a rule or anything, but I don't want them anywhere near my Slayer."

Xander shared a meaningful look with Jonathon then turned to Willow, "I have one question, 'Come and get it, Big Boy'?"

Oz's turned a curious gaze on his girlfriend.

Willow blushed as everyone's attention turned to her, "Well… Buffy always says something witty to throw the vamps." She shrugged, "I thought I'd try it."

Xander grimaced as he looked at her and shook his head. "Not a good idea, Wils."

Cordelia turned away so that the others would not see her smile.

"School starts next week," Amy said as she sat on a bench nearby.

"Do we have to?" Jonathon frowned as he thought of what would happen when they went back to school. 'Would they all still be friends?' he wondered.

As if the transgenic had read his mind, Xander clapped a hand on his shoulder. "We're not the Breakfast Club," he said with a smirk.

"Course not," his girlfriend said as she turned back to the others with a friendly smile. "We're like… brothers and sisters."

The tall, dark haired young man looked over at her as he scratched the back of his head. "You're nuts, Cordy," he said with a totally Alec expression on his face.

"Shut up," she snapped, "You feel the same way."

He smiled then shrugged, "Yeah, you're right."

"Are we going out tonight?" Jonathon asked to change the subject.

"I'm out," Xander said as he checked his watch. "I've got a… thing."


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

…Exposure…

The doorbell chimed at the Summers' Residence. Joyce Summers, Buffy's mother, rose from her seat in the living room and went to answer the door.

The door was opened to reveal Rupert Giles, Sunnydale High School Librarian as he stood at the door.

"May I help you?" Joyce asked as she recognized him.

"May I come in?" he asked as he removed his glasses and slipped them into a pocket in his coat.

"Sure," the blonde said as she opened the door wider.

He slipped into the house and followed her to the dining room.

"Please, have a seat," she said as she sat at the table and looked at him expectantly.

Giles looked at her for a long moment, stunned, "I've been…" he stammered and moved to take a seat. "I've been trying to locate your daughter. I've had contacts looking for someone fighting vampires. But…" he looked down at the table, "…all of the trails are cold."

"So no sign of Buffy?" Joyce asked with a frown.

"Oakland had goth kids," Giles said as he looked at her once more. "But, no Buffy."

"Thank you for the effort you're putting forth," the Slayer's mother sighed. "I'm afraid to leave the house in case she calls or comes home."

"Buffy is one of the strongest young women I know," he said with a small consoling smile. "I don't think she's in any danger no matter what situation she finds herself in."

"We had a fight the night she left," the woman whispered as she wiped at her tears with a tissue. "I wish I could talk to her, take her in my arms and keep her safe."

"You should not blame yourself for what happened," Giles said with a sad sigh.

"I don't," she looked at him with no emotion in her face, "I blame you."

He turned startled eyes on her but remained silent.

"You've been influencing her behind my back," tears were streaming down her face unchecked at this point and she leaned her arms heavily on the table. "You've taken my daughter away from me."

Giles sighed heavily as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

She tried to shake him off, but he was determined to offer comfort. "I did not make her what she is."

"And what exactly is that?" Joyce snapped the question at her.

…Timeless…

Rupert Giles had just hung up the phone as he stood in the living room of his small house.

That had been one of his contacts. The man said that there was a girl matching Buffy's description seen in Los Angeles, California, coming out of the Family Home Shelter right before it had imploded.

With a huge sigh of relief the Watcher moved to a cabinet and poured himself a glass of bourbon. He made it a double.

He walked back to the sofa and sat down heavily, drink in hand. He took a huge sip and the amber liquid burned a fiery path down his throat straight to his stomach.

His contact had told him that he had watched the girl get on a bus bound for Sunnydale. His Slayer was coming home.

Ruper Giles began life as Gennadius. A Franco Germanic warrior on the planes of what today is known as Alsace, France. Back then, he had lived his life like a raider, traveling with his people hunting and raiding outer villages as though he had not a care in the world.

His father had given him a Celt girl that he had kidnapped from another village. Instead of raping her and passing her around to some of the other men in his tribe as was custom, he had kept her for his own. He had even married her in the ways of their people.

After two years and the lack of children in the union, he was led to believe that there was something wrong with her. He had cast her out of his bed, out of the village and out of his life, never realizing that he was the one with the problem. He would never be able to have children of his own in the usual sense.

As was often the case, their tribe went to war. The fact that his wife's family was trying to avenge her honor had gone unsaid. That day he had gone to battle, sword in hand, he felt vindicated as he had fought valiantly against her cousins, brothers, uncles and father. An arrow had hit his heart that day… killing him instantly.

Being a Watcher to a Slayer and a Librarian was a far cry from that scruffy warrior.


	13. Epilogue

Epilogue

…I'm Going Home…

_ On the day I went away...  
Goodbye was all I had to say...  
_

Buffy Summers sat on the Sunnydale bound motor coach. She frowned as she saw the sign that read, 'Welcome to Sunnydale.'

_ Now I want to come again and stay...  
Smile, and that will mean that I may...  
_  
At 1630 Revello Drive, Joyce loaded the dishwasher to overfull. She seemed tired, drawn and worn down.

_ Cause I've seen blue skies,_

_Through the tears in my eyes...  
And I realize I'm going home...  
_  
Buffy, on the other side of the door knocked, waited for what seemed like forever but was truly only minutes.

_ Everywhere it's been the same...  
Feeling like I'm outside in the rain...  
_

The front door opened and mother and daughter stood there in stunned silence.

Suddenly, it was like a light switch had clicked on and the pair gravitated toward each other. The hug that followed was a long, painful embrace.

_ Wheeling free, to try and find a game...  
Dealing cards for sorrow, cards for pain...  
_  
After the women shared a long, comforting silence in the kitchen, the Slayer moved through the house to her room. She dumped the bag containing her meager belongings on the floor next to her dresser and dropped into the chair next to her bed. She placed her head in her hands and sat there for a long moment.

_ Cause I've seen blue skies,_

Feeling a presence in her room, the blonde looked up and noticed her mother just at the entrance.

"Mom…" she began, but trailed off, unsure of what she wanted to say.

_Through the tears in my eyes...  
And I realize I'm going home...  
_  
Joyce entered the room quickly and embraced her daughter. She pulled the young woman into her lap as she sat on the bed.

_I'm going home, I'm going home._

That was when the tearsbegan.

…Anytime You Need a Friend…

Buffy had wanted to find her friends and see if there was any chance that she could make amends with them.

As she walked down the road she heard scuffling noises coming from an alleyway between two businesses.

As she turned down the corner of the alley, she was surprised by what she found.

There was a man, dressed completely in black, fighting a vampire. She observed the fight and was surprised as the man held his own against the demon.

The vampire grabbed the man and threw him ten feet away and raced after his fallen foe.

The man kipped up into a low guard fighting stance and as the vampire advanced, he was ready for the creature.

The man in black lifted the thing bodily and threw it, upside down into the wall of the alley then used a stake to kill it.

He stumbled away from the ash, and sensing the presence of someone in the alley with him, the man spun faster than her eye could see and crouched low, ready to spring at any perceived threat.

In that moment, the Slayer realized that it was Xander.

The X5 blinked at her for a long moment, seemed to sniff the air before he realized it was her.

"What's going on?" Buffy said with a slight Mona Lisa smile as she eyed him curiously.

Blinking some more, the transgenic rubbed his eyes then looked at her again, "Is it really you?"

Suddenly, the X5 was tackled to the ground and rolled around on the ground with a vampire as he tried to gain the upper hand.

Buffy realized Xander was growling as the vampire exploded into ash, his stake raised at the ready.

"Damn it!" he exclaimed as he kipped up once more then headed to her side.

"Alec," Cordelia's voice cut the night and he sighed in relief at hearing her voice.

"Come in, Alec!" the transgenic sounded more urgent this time as Xander ignored the walkie talkie and looked at Buffy.

"Alec?" Buffy said as she eyed her friend up and down taking in his appearance. The young man before her had a nearly perfect athletic body, and since the baggy clothes were gone he looked like he could be a model for GQ.

In that moment, Willow and Jonathon ran up to them and skidded to a halt.

"Hey, Buffy," the young witch said in a friendly tone then stopped. She turned and rushed the Slayer with a hug. "Buffy!" she squealed.

Xander winced and put a finger to his ear as though the sound were too loud.

Jonathon looked up at Xander in silent communication with a questioning light to his brown eyes.

Xander gave a hand signal for him to relax.

Not long after the others had showed up, Cordelia, Oz and Amy reached the alley.

Buffy and Willow finally broke apart after a long moment.

"Are you alright, Alec? I've been trying to raise you…" she trailed off as she realized the Slayer was there. "Buffy!" she exclaimed as she looked at the blonde with caution.

"Alec?" Buffy asked one more time as she eyed the young man curiously.

"Maybe we should find some place where we can talk," Xander said as he made a hand signal to egress.


End file.
